Means for protecting banks



'May 6,1930, A 1.; SMITH 1,751,688

I MEANS FOR PROTECTING BANKS Filed April 28, 1928 "/4/ m Invmdmf 231 wflllia L. 5 1111 Patented May 6, 1930 UNITED? ALTA L. SMITH, or CHESTER,VIRGINIA MEANS 'roa PRQTECTING BANKS Application filed April 28, 1928.Serial No. 273,714. I

This invention relates to a bank protector and more specifically tomeans whereby a door of the revolving type may be locked, and at thesame time, a guard operating the 5 locking means will be protected fromattack. The principal object is to provide manual locking meanspositioned directly above the entrance to the bank and at the same timeprotect the operator or guard from attack. 10 Another object is toprovidea bank guard with an observation post having openings which maybe utilized both for observation and shooting purposes.

Still another object is to provide a bank 15 guard with an observationpost safe from attack, in which he may send and receive signals.

Another object is to locate an armored booth above the ground whichcommands 2 the entire bank or building, including the space directlybeneath the booth, and at the same time provides means whereby the guardin the booth may secure the'mainentrance against any one leaving orentering the'bank 2 without exposing himself or the mechanism operatingthe securing means.

Other objects will be disclosed in specification and drawings:

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a top plan showing the position of the guard booth inrelation to the teller cages in a bank;

Figure 2 shows a top plan of the bottom of the booth;

Figure 3 shows a top plan of the locking mechanism with a portion brokenaway;

Figure 4 is a vertical section of the booth showing the doors inunlocking position taken along line 4-4 of Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a section along line 5-5'of Figure 3; and

Figure 6 is an end elevation of the locking means.

Referring to the drawings:

Numeral 1 designates an armored booth,

the

having revolving doors 2 mounted beneath the same and a ladder 3furnishing means of access to said armored booth l. A partition 4separates the means of access 3 from the so rest of the building.Extending along the sides of a room Bare cages 6 used by the casha ierand tellers. At the far end is the usual bank vault 7. In the side walls8 of the armored booth l are loop holes 9 for observation or shootingpurposes. In the floor 10 are openings llfor the same purposes and soarranged as to command all sides of the revolving doors 12, which aredirectly beneath the armored booth 1. Covers are provided which may beused to close the loop holes when not in use. The revolving doors 12 aremounted on a shaft 13 having bearings 14: and 15 at'the. bottom and top,respectively,

. and extending up into the booth 1, a substantial distance above thebearing 15.,

Adjacent the bearing 15,011" the shaft 13, is secured a collar 16 havingserrations 17 integral with said collar. Attached to the floor 10 of thebooth adjacent the collar 16 is a support 18 pivotally connected towhich at 27 is a handle 19 and which is secured at its lower end to aplate 20, the securing means taking the form of a roller member 21operating between two jaws 22 in the handle 19, the plate being slidablymounted in a frame 23, the upturnededges 24 forming guides for saidplate 20. In the middle of plate 20 is shown an elongated slot .24 whichallows for a limited reciprocating movement about the shaft 13. On theend of the plate 20, opposite the handle 19, is a wedge-shaped lug 25which may be brought into and out ofengagement with the serrations 17carried by the collar 16, depending upon the movement of the handle 19which moves the plate 20 forward or backward forcing the lug into or outofengagement with the serrations. On the upper extremity of shaft 13 issecured a member 26 which permits the manual revolving of the doors,should it be desired to revolve the same from the armored booth.Covering the loop holes 11 in the floor are covers 28 which may beoperated by the guards foot. Likewise hinged plates 29 are used to coverthe elona? gated loop holes 9 in the side walls of the guard booth.

As actually operated, the guard is stationed in the booth and willobserve unseen by anyone else the people passing in and out of the bankand because of the location of the booth Will be able to command thedifferent teller windows. Should he observe anything suspicious orshould an alarm be sounded, he will at once lock the revolving doors bypulling the handle which causes the lug to slide into engagement withthe serrations, thus securely locking the door against revolving.

This prevents any person already in the bank from escaping and any ofhis confederates from entering.

If an actual hold-up is taking place, the guard may shoot through theloop holes without any danger of being shot himself, and at the sametime, notify the police or any outside agency of the hold-up. By havingthe locking means immediately above the doors, and the operatorstationed there, there is no danger of the locking means being tamperedwith as might be the case if the armored booth was located away from thedoor.

By having a partition separating the means of access to the booth fromthe rest of the bank proper, only a smooth surface will be presented tothe occupants of the bank. Openings in the floor of the booth permit theguard to shoot anyone taking refuge in the revolving doors.

Although I have described my invention in connection with revolvingdoors and a bank, I do not limit myself to this particular case, as itmay be highly desirable to utilize the invention in connection withdepartment 7 stores or other places of business, and further, it may bedesirable to place a guard booth over doors that are not of therevolving type but which may be locked by the guard stationed directlyabove the door.

I claim- 1. A thief trap for banking rooms or the like comprising doorsfixed to a vertical shaft and revolving therewith, sald doorscontrolling a door-way and being disposed at such an angle as to form aclosed compartment when two of said doors are 111 uxta-position to aside of said door-way, means forming a guards chamber above saidrevolving doors into which the shaft of said doors extends, lockingmeans including an element on the extended portion of said shaft forlocking said doors in anyincidentally assumed position of said doors,and selectively operable means related to said extended portion of saidshaft and to said locking element for rotating said doors to apredetermined position before looking them.

2. A thief trap for banking rooms or the like comprising an up-rightunitary casing, a transverse partition dividing said casingintermedi'ately, the lowerpart of said casing being of cylindricalcurvature and provided with a door-way, the upper part of said casingforming a guards chamber, a shaft sub stantially coaxial'with the lowerpart of said

